1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to call centers and more particularly to queuing inbound communications to the call center.
2. Background Art
In a conventional call center environment, a group of agents are available for receiving a voice call from a customer. Typically, a decision is made based on availability of agents, type of service desired, and time zone in order to determine which agent will receive the voice call. Currently, an agent will press a button or enter a key sequence on their phone to log them in and mark the agent as available to receive the voice call. When the voice call is completed, the agent will hang up, thus marking them ready for the next voice call. To stop receiving calls, the agent will press a button or enter another key code to log them out.
While the above described system indicates a call center environment focused on voice calls, the agent may also be available through other communication mechanisms, such as e-mail or chat/instant messaging. To insure proper customer service, the agent may be on a single communication device responding to one communication at a time. For example, an inexperience agent may not want to be responding to an e-mail and be on a voice call at the same instance. However, a more experienced agent or supervisor may be able to handle multiple communications at the same time.
Therefore, there is a need for a system that maximizes productivity of agents given a plurality of different types of communication mechanisms.